William Robertson, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from the metropolitan Dallas area, has orally committed to play basketball at Stetson University next year.Robertson averaged 15.2 points per game, was his team's leading rebounder at 9.5 per game and was an all-district selection last year as a junior at North Mesquite High.North Mesquite coach Mark Wendell, who confirmed his player's commitment, described Robertson as ''a hard nosed, blue-collar worker. . . . It's a perfect fit. He's an extremely intelligent player.

Twenty-year-old Orlando Magic small forward Maurice Harkless has strung together his five best consecutive games of the season. In that stretch, he's averaged 14.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. Even more importantly, he's displayed a consistent aggressiveness that he's often lacked this season. In the Magic's 101-89 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Harkless scored 15 points and recorded five steals. On one play, Harkless dove headfirst toward the Magic's bench to corral a loose ball, prompting coach Jacque Vaughn to applaud.

David McNealy has made up his mind for now. Wednesday he signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Valencia Community College in Orlando next year. The Mount Dora High School senior, who was the scoring (19 points per game) and rebounding (11.3 per game) leader on the Hurricanes, was looking for a school that would offer him a good coach, people he felt comfortable with, a chance to start and a full grant-in-aid deal. Valencia offered the 6-foot-4 McNealy, who played center and was named to the Lake Sentinel's All-County second team, all that and more.

For the third time in about a month, an Orlando teenager has been hit by gunfire. "Sadly, we're here once again to talk about another teenager who has been shot in our community," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said Monday, asking for the public's assistance in solving the death of Onardo Bent. "We want to bring to justice whoever is responsible for shooting this young man. We need your help. " On Saturday morning, Onardo, 15, was riding his blue BMX-style bicycle from his family's home on Duckhorn Court about 5 miles to practice basketball at his uncle's home on Leprechaun Court.

Pearl Johnson, the junior who helped lead Leesburg's girls basketball team to a single-season school record for victories with 28 and a berth in a Class 5A state semifinal, has committed orally to play basketball at UAB. Johnson, who made the commitment late Tuesday night, becomes UAB's first player to commit out of the 2008 high school senior class and is expected to sign with the Blazers in November. With Johnson's commitment, which is non-binding until she signs, this will be the third year in a row that at least one player from Leesburg's girls basketball program has signed with a college.

University of Central Florida men's basketball coach Kirk Speraw announced the signing Thursday of Eric Riggs, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Brownsburgh, Ind. He averaged 25.4 points per game and finished third in balloting for Indiana's ''Mr. Basketball'' award. He was also named to the Indiana All-Star team as one of the top 12 seniors in the state.''We're really excited,'' Speraw said. ''Eric is an outstanding shooter and also an outstanding person.''He's also a shortstop. Riggs has indicated a desire to play baseball for the Knights, too. Speraw said he supports the decision and is happy to ''share'' Riggs with baseball coach Jay Bergman.

During the fall, most prep basketball stars aren't estimating the damage a 300-pound lineman could do to their knees. They aren't wondering what that all-state linebacker meant when he asked if hospitalization insurance was provided.The great majority of athletes with futures in hoops are tucked safely away in gyms from September to December. But a few, such as Rodney Chatman of New Smyrna Beach, are sweating out the fall with the football team.For three years Chatman -- a 6-foot-2 senior -- has diversified his talents.

The condition of Orlando Magic forward Derek Strong was upgraded to good Friday, paving the way for his upcoming departure from Florida Hospital.Strong had been in the intensive care unit for almost a week after a bout with malignant hyperthermia, an extremely rare but often fatal syndrome that is triggered without warning by commonly used, inhalation anesthetics.Strong had gone into Florida Hospital last Friday for routine, outpatient surgery to repair a broken nose, but he almost died when he was stricken suddenly.

Natalie Bonds always has had a strong connection with her family. Her 13-year-old sister, Tiffany, always has tagged along with Natalie, looking up to her as a role model, following her every move. Her mother, Virginia, and late grandmother, Gladys Terry, have been her inspiration. Natalie admires her mother's work ethic and Terry's nurturing. This fall, the 18-year-old Tavares High graduate and all-everything athlete will leave Florida and travel more than 1,200 miles to a new life.

LAKE MARY -- The blind kid, sweaty from basketball practice, stood on the court and called home to get a ride. Blind kid. He hates that. His dad will pick him up. Coach had let them out of Wednesday's practice early because of their big game the next night, the last game of the season. The Lake Mary Prep basketball team was undefeated for the first time in the school's history and had one more team to get through, Class 6A Deltona. Lake Mary Prep is Class A. Edgar Suris didn't know if he would get to play.

Last year's girls bowling state runner-up may have found a secret weapon. After convincing basketball and flag football standout Lenzie Eller to join the team, Orlando University coach Joe Wright said team cohesiveness will improve. "Bowling is a very individualized sport. " Wright said. "Lenzie is trying to bring a team-sport bonding mentality. " Eller may not post the high score each week, but when it comes to organizing movie nights and slumber parties, she's your girl.

ARLINGTON, Texas - When Florida Gators forward Erik Murphy takes the court on Friday night for his final Sweet 16, his parents, Jay and Paivi, will be courtside once again to cheer on their oldest son. Since he was born, Murphy has been caught in a love triangle, with basketball as the centerpiece. Having two former professional players as parents there never was a question whether Murphy would play, rather how far he would take basketball. To reach three straight Sweet 16s, earn first-team All-SEC honors as a senior and lead the Gators in scoring during the postseason, the 6-foot-10 Murphy credits a piece of fatherly advice about the game.

Spruce Creek will have to defend its 8A baseball title without standout junior pitcher Kyle Marsh, last year's Central Florida Player of the Year. Head coach Johnny Goodrich confirmed the UCF commit injured his knee while playing basketball in gym class on Monday. "My junior year of baseball has come to an end," Marsh posted on his Twitter account. "Broke my knee have to get surgery tomorrow [Tuesday]. Do ur thing I believe in you guys!" Marsh was scheduled to pitch Thursday against district rival Lake Mary.

The basketball comes up to Julian Newman's knees. At 4-feet-5 and 70 pounds, Julian furiously dribbles the ball between his legs inside Downey Christian's dimly lit gym. His much-older teammates watch as he stops dribbling and attempts a 3-point shot. Swish. He lets out a loud "whoop" and makes four more consecutive shots from behind the arc. "It's shocking," senior teammate Tyre Wilson said. "It's different, but you start getting used to it. He can play with us. We don't have to help him out. " Julian, 11, has emerged as an international sensation by playing on the boys high-school varsity team this past season at Downey Christian, a small Orlando private school.

TALLAHASSEE — It is still early on Florida State men's basketball's preseason calendar, but Leonard Hamilton wants more from his group. "Now, there's no negating the fact that we like this team," Hamilton said Monday afternoon. "We think we have good potential, but we're in the development stages. We're not far along. "We're not a good basketball team right now. We're a team that's trying to come together. " The No. 23 Seminoles, ranked this preseason in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches and Associated Press Top 25 polls for the first time in school history, enter Tuesday night's exhibition against Lincoln Memorial College looking like a team in flux and transition, Hamilton said.

Two groups of adults from the Middle Flint Behavioral Healthcare program squared off in basketball action on Friday at the Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department's Columns at Boone Park Community Center. The Breezeway Ballers of Sumter County hosted the Phoenix House Dragsters of Crisp County. This event helped to facilitate some much needed recreation time for the adult students in these programs. It also provided an opportunity for the Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department's day camp students to better understand the careers in mental and behavioral healthcare.

For now, two of Florida State's dual-sport athletes will take opposite competitive paths, but both will try to win FSU's starting quarterback job next year.Third-team quarterback Charlie Ward on Monday accompanied the basketball team to Atlanta, where he is expected to play tonight against Syracuse in the Atlantic Coast Conference/Big East Challenge.Kenny Felder, the designated hitter on FSU's Atlantic Regional championship baseball team last season, will not start 1992 as a member of the baseball team so he can concentrate on off-season football workouts.

UMATILLA - Matt Lawrence knew he wanted to play college basketball from the day he made the Umatilla junior varsity team as a freshman.The dream of the 6-foot-3, 195-pound shooting guard came true when he committed to Webber College in Babson Park on Wednesday morning.Former Umatilla Coach Mark Holder said Lawrence's heart and desire got him to the college level.He remembers a ``5-foot-nothing, 95-pounder'' coming to try out for his basketball team four years ago.``We were doing an agility drill in the preseason,'' Holder said.

Chris Quinn had roughly 1.1 million reasons for signing a one-year contact last summer to play professional basketball in Russia, not the least of which was securing work during the NBA lockout with a wife and newborn son to support. At this stage of Quinn's career, however, basketball means much more to the Dublin Coffman and Notre Dame product than merely being paid handsomely ($1.1 million) to play the game he loves. "I did a lot of research and examined a lot of factors before deciding that it was just too good an offer to turn down," said Quinn, who will turn 29 in September.

Jeff Downing has learned help comes from unexpected places during a crisis, but he was still shocked when he recently spoke with former UCF basketball player A.J. Rompza. Downing's 4-year-old daughter, Caitlin, is battling an aggressive form of brain cancer . The prognosis is grim, with the family relying on expensive experimental treatments atMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City to shrink her brain tumor and improve her odds of survival. They reached out to Rompza for help donating auction items for a fund-raiser.